The Brothers Mario: Act III - The Death of Super Mario
by onemikey
Summary: As Luigi leaves his brother to escape with Daisy, Mario's plan to rescue Princess Peach goes further awry when Bowser reveals a secret about the plague that could spell the end of the Mushroom Kingdom as we know it.


"THE BROTHERS MARIO"

An apocalyptic re-imagining of the Super Mario Bros. mythology

Screenplay by Mike Schneider

ACT THREE: THE DEATH OF SUPER MARIO

thebrothersmario dot com | onemikey dot com

**EXT. THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM | "NIGHT"**

As the denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom attempt to start their day in the wake of yesterday's events, the oppression of the night only makes matters worse. There is utter confusion in the streets.

Plague-ridden Goombas, Shy Guys, and Koopas police the environment with threats - and when deemed necessary - acts of violence.

The afflicted retreat inside their new homes. The healthy fall back into alleyways and ditches. Shop owners are blocked from entering their stores and stands. Commerce is shut down.

Into these streets, comes Mario...

At first, no one is sure what to think since he is wearing what could be construed as a disguise. In reality, he is merely attempting to protect himself from the contentious environment he is certain to face.

Amidst the healthy is the family he plowed past in the van, including the man Yoshi mauled, apparently near death, his arm now wrapped in raggedy bandages. They speak up -

HEALTHY: Is it really Mario? Is it an imposter?

MARIO: Nobody else wears the hat.

A wall of Koopas moves to obstruct Mario's path, showing their teeth, snapping. Nearby, Goombas and Shy Guys consolidate their forces while some of the healthy verbally assault Mario, who readies his pipe wrench.

HEALTHY: You failed the kingdom! You failed us all!

Ironically, the evil creatures act as a de facto protectorate. If the healthy people and toads want to get to him, they first have to go through a gang of Bowser's foot soldiers.

Therefore, a standoff develops: Mario versus the Koopas, then the Goombas, then the Shy Guys... And after that, the healthy.

MARIO: I'm cutting through here whether you want me to or not.

As he says this, Ludwig comes out of the shadows. His condition has worsened, as the decay has spread to his neck and shoulders.

LUDWIG: Remove the mask.

MARIO: For what? So you can give me the plague? Won't happen Ludwig.

LUDWIG: I suppose I'll trust it's you underneath all those layers. Who else would wear that hat and carry a pipe wrench? I don't have the same issue with needing extra clothing, as you can see, thanks to my father.

MARIO: And why's that?

LUDWIG: He gave the plague to me intentionally. In turn, I passed it to the Hammer Brothers. But only by their request.

MARIO: What's wrong with them?

LUDWIG: All will be explained by my father once the generators are up and running. Did you know that as Lord of Dark Land he perpetuates the night wherever he goes? Always the same layer of darkness no matter the hour... Complete blockage of the sun and the moon.

MARIO: Matches the color of his soul.

LUDWIG: I wouldn't disagree. But don't feel bad. You probably weren't aware since he's become increasingly reclusive over the years, less inclined to show himself to the Mushroom World after facing so many defeats. But he tells me this time will be different.

MARIO: It won't be.

LUDWIG: In at least one way it will... Where's Luigi?

MARIO: That's not your problem.

LUDWIG: I suppose you're right. But what about my brother, Larry? Did he come to see you? He said he might.

MARIO: He did.

LUDWIG: And?

MARIO: He won't see me again.

LUDWIG: By that you mean?

MARIO: Exactly what I said.

A beat. Ludwig studies Mario, then -

LUDWIG: I was ordered to deliver the plague to Larry as well, but I'm not sure I succeeded... I'm not even sure how I should define success.

MARIO: One of you succeeded in killing Yoshi.

LUDWIG: Is that true?

MARIO: Don't toy with me...

LUDWIG: My father's obsession with you has toyed with my entire life. If I were convinced killing you would loosen his grip on me, I would do it now.

MARIO: You couldn't touch me.

LUDWIG: I dare say enabling you to kill him might help me more. But alas you have shown no interest in that venture, and I would lose so much implicit power and wealth.

Ludwig steps aside. He commands the foot soldiers and the denizens in the street to do the same.

LUDWIG: Let Mario pass so he can confront my father and attempt to rescue the Princess he still adores and you have grown to despise.

Faced with the threatened malice of the foot soldiers, the somewhat perplexed crowd spreads out. Mario walks forward, cautious. His eyes shift back and forth, working to perceive every possible threat...

LUDWIG: Of course, he's devoted zero time to extracting you from the mandibles of this vile plague. Instead, he concerns himself with a monarch who has all the riches in the world, yet who has done nothing to aid you either. What a time we chose to be born...

At these words, the crowd pushes back towards the center of the street. Mario counters, speaking to the public more so than to Ludwig -

MARIO: Everybody knows the palace scientists have been working on a cure. The second I get the Princess away from Bowser, she'll push them. That'll be her only priority. I know. It has to be...

The crowd heeds Mario's words, albeit inconclusively. They don't know what to feel or who to believe. Signs of in- fighting. Shouting back and forth. Ludwig yells above it -

LUDWIG: I believe there have been some setbacks in that regard.

MARIO: What are you saying?

LUDWIG: I repeat - all will be explained by my father. He gestures towards the castle...

BOWSER EMERGES.

He is again wearing a FULL SUIT OF ARMOR, including a HELMET. A dash of the color PINK is cradled in the crook of his arm. Presumably, it is -

MARIO: Peach.

Then suddenly, in the distance, ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING bursts on. STAR PARK and the INVINCIBILITY STAR SCULPTURE are illuminated - for Bowser to rampage towards.

LUDWIG: To Star Park we go. Like sheep.

And with that, a STAMPEDE begins. The healthy push towards the park, yelling on the way, drawing the afflicted out of their homes.

Anyone disinclined to join the throngs is motivated to change their mind by Bowser's malicious, contagious foot soldiers.

Mario is caught in the fray. He fights to stay upright, swimming through the crowd as the healthy and the plague- ridden rush past, including Koopas, Goombas, and Shy Guys.

He holds his pipe wrench out in front of him with both hands like a staff, protecting himself as best he can, ultimately half-crashing, half-navigating to someone's FRONT PORCH, where he ducks and finds refuge.

Once the crowd and the foot soldiers finally clear, he remains still for a moment. He is alone. He raises up from a crouch. His chest fills with air. He checks his arms - their post-Mushroom power-up physical stature is intact.

He hurries for the park...

**EXT. STAR PARK | "NIGHT"**

As was to be anticipated, virtually all of the Mushroom Kingdom is present, crowded in and around the park.

Ludwig and the foot soldiers have divided the masses in half, separating the healthy from the afflicted.

In a reversal of fortunes, however, the healthy have been forced to the back, while the afflicted are closest to the center of attention -

Bowser stands as tall as the Invincibility Star sculpture, with the Princess in the palm of his hand. She wears her gown from Rescue Day. The white gloves are back, albeit in a longer form, all the way up to her shoulders.

Bowser has kept his helmet on. At his side are the Hammer Brothers. They act as bodyguards, sledgehammers poised.

To command the attention of the crowd, Bowser quickly and temporarily tilts up his helmet - and breathes an IMMENSE FIREBALL into the sky.

BOWSER: Denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom... Today, I come to you to speak boldly of my plan for a better future. A plan that your highness, Princess Peach Toadstool, has fully endorsed.

Mario reaches the park. He stays back, distant from the edge of the crowd, undetected and anonymous by being late to the party - at least for the moment. In his eyes, Peach appears distressed. He comments to himself -

MARIO: He's lying. She doesn't want to be here...

Peach shouts to be heard -

PRINCESS PEACH: In battling the plague, I have under served all of you, toads and humans, healthy and afflicted. This was my mistake, my failure. Today, I ask that you accept my apology.

Reactions vary wildly. Mario studies the makeup of the crowd and its positioning. He sets out to locate some kind of opening to get to Peach, who now tries to speak even more loudly, but her voice is cracking -

PRINCESS PEACH: However, information that King Bowser has been- Information he has shared with me indicates this may have been a blessing in disguise. For I see... What I see is a glimmer of hope.

Poorly, she is trying to keep it together. Bowser scrutinizes her, then continues.

BOWSER: In the past, I envied your kingdom. Its beauty and dominance made my home, Dark Land, seem ugly and weak by comparison. Angered by this cruel gift of fate, I aspired to bring your kingdom to ruin. Over the years, I failed. Time and again. I became less enamored with power and more obsessed with revenge against your Princess and the plumber who grew into my nemesis.

He pauses for the sake of adding drama.

BOWSER: And then came the plague...

Bowser discards the Princess. The Hammer Brothers close in on her. Knowing better, she makes no effort to run. The crowd stares... Bowser starts to REMOVE HIS ARMOR. They latch on to his every move.

Mario quickens his pace. He gets closer to the action, entering the healthy section of the crowd...

As Bowser opens up his armor, pulls the pieces off his chest and arms and sends them crashing to the ground. Finally, he removes his HELMET. He holds it up above his head, like a medieval warrior displaying a severed head.

Of course, by losing his armor he has exposed the RIVULETS of PLAGUE that run all over his BODY and FACE.

The Princess shuts her eyes. The crowd gasps. They point. They chatter. Mario is taken aback by the sheer breadth of Bowser's affliction, due to his size.

BOWSER: Gaze up, all of you, especially those who are already afflicted. Do you see me cower from this so-called plague? Do you?! No, you do not!

Bowser then swipes the Princess off the ground. The healthy scream -

HEALTHY: No! He's touching her! She'll be exposed!

He raises her up and outward, putting her on display. Her fortitude weakens before our eyes.

BOWSER: And now your turn, Princess.

Mario can't bear to watch. He knows what's coming. He puts his head down, pushes deeper into the crowd. Sporadically, the healthy notice him, albeit with little effect - their attention is elsewhere...

Peach strips off one glove, then the other. Eyes closed, she extends her uncovered arms out to her side, for all to see how the plague has overtaken her appendages.

Cries of horror from the healthy. Shouts of solidarity from the afflicted.

The Princess drops her gloves. She braces herself. Then Bowser uses his claw to slice open the back of her gown. The Princess turns... Showing the crowd A NEW AMOEBA OF PLAGUE eating away at the base of her SPINE.

The reaction intensifies. Mario can't keep his eyes averted from the Princess any longer. He looks up as Bowser speaks -

BOWSER: If you expect this to mean we will work together to find a cure, you are sadly mistaken...

It is the Princess's turn to speak, but she is busy trying to recover her gloves, embarrassed that everyone can see her affliction. Under the pressure of Bowser's gaze, however, she gives up -

PRINCESS PEACH: There will- There will be no cure for the plague. In fact... It is unwarranted.

Saying so pains her and shocks the crowd. Seeing the Princess acquiesce to Bowser wounds Mario. He watches as she loses the strength in her legs and falls to her knees. Reacting, he straight-lines through the crowd, angling for her...

BOWSER: The plague is not a plague at all. It is creative destruction. As our flesh crumbles, we change. And when the plague fully consumes us, we will not perish. We will die temporarily and then we will be reborn. We will become something new altogether, something better, our failings and flaws forgotten or eliminated...

A bombshell. The Princess breaks down further, but deigns to show support, as she no doubt has been instructed -

PRINCESS PEACH: This knowledge is King Bowser's gift to us, to all of us. We will not die from the plague. We won't. It will bring us new life. We will be- Somehow we will be reborn.

It almost sounds as if she's pleading, praying her words are true. Exasperated, Mario shoves forward, knocking through people. But Bowser's words have already launched a much more prominent earthquake through the crowd.

BOWSER: I announce now a program for the whole Mushroom Kingdom to acquire the plague within the next three days. At the end of this period, a culling will be held, in which anyone who has not yet done so will be executed. A frightened skeptic might say, 'The plague will destroy us anyway.' To this I counter, you _believe _the plague will lead to your death, but you do not know. I have been given _facts_. Those who left us while afflicted will rise from the dead, reborn, one year after their deaths. The plague itself is only one year old. The first rebirths are coming shortly. I know this without question to be true...

Mario breaches the line of plague-infected foot soldiers charged with separating the afflicted from the healthy. He attacks using the pipe wrench, his fists, and his feet, fearless since his skin is completely covered.

Bowser notices the brawl but holds out on addressing it, as he needs to finish his soliloquy.

BOWSER: If your afflicted neighbors resist awarding you the plague for any reason, you can come to the castle and receive it from the Princess herself. Look out at our denizens, Princess. Nod, wave. Show them you will be their savior.

In a most anguished way, she does, freeing Bowser to react to Mario's pugnacious arrival -

BOWSER: Could that be Super Mario? Wearing a mask, battering my foot soldiers with a pipe wrench, obviously angered he has not yet procured the plague?

Bowser delivers Peach to the Hammer Brothers and comes forward. The afflicted at the front of the crowd spread out, allowing him to pass.

Mario finishes laying waste to a pack of Goombas. He seethes, looks up... To see Bowser standing over top of him. The rapt crowd circles. The Hammer Brothers trail their king, dragging the Princess at their side.

MARIO: Hand her over.

BOWSER: Why? So you can take her where? This is her kingdom. Are you going to abduct her and run away somewhere? You make little sense. The Mario I know is savvier than that.

The Princess speaks out in desperation -

PRINCESS PEACH: Take off your mask, Mario. Please. I want to see your face.

At her urging, Mario removes his balaclava. In doing so, his gloved fingers brush against his neck. The Princess looks at him deeply. Something akin to hope shoots through her, bolstering her posture, lifting her spirit.

Bowser snarls. He and Mario fixate on one another.

BOWSER: I notice you've taken a power-up. It's not enough. I am too confident. I am too strong.

MARIO: You're sick.

BOWSER: No, Mario, it is those who aren't afflicted who are sick, for they are satisfied experiencing a limited life, with only death at the end, without rebirth. Why be one of them? Why not join us? Why not become a symbol for all those who have avoided the plague to this point? Why not be the first to receive the affliction from Princess Peach, right here, right now, for all the Mushroom Kingdom to see!

A wave of stunned silence swamps the crowd.

BOWSER: Princess...

Bowser motions for the Hammer Brothers, who thrust her forward. She reels, her arms dangling at her side, the plague, exposed. Bowser makes sure she faces Mario, who is closer to the decay of her flesh than ever before...

From here, it is an even worse sight, even more grotesque. He focuses on her eyes, wanting to pretend that none of this is happening, that they are alone somewhere, together and pure.

MARIO: I saw you last night, outside the castle. You were getting ready to replace Rescue Day.

She looks away from him. She holds out her arms, as if offering him the plague...

PRINCESS PEACH: We have no choice. I'm sorry.

MARIO: You can't just give up.

PRINCESS PEACH: It could mean something to the people. It might help enable a

peaceful transition. One last achievement we can be celebrated for on the pathway to the end.

MARIO: There's still the cure...

PRINCESS PEACH: Oh Mario, there is no cure. They killed the scientists, destroyed the lab. We've been set back years. It's too late.

MARIO: We can find other scientists. You know what the old ones were doing. You tracked their progress-

PRINCESS PEACH: You wanted to be married. This would be a union of sorts. We can spend our final days as you wished, in the castle, together. We can glorify the day I gave you the plague. We could call it 'Affliction Day.'

MARIO: But we'll rot.

PRINCESS PEACH: It's something.

MARIO: I want more than that.

PRINCESS PEACH: But you can't have it, Mario.

MARIO: I don't believe that.

He backs away. Entropy overtakes the crowd. The voice of Bowser booms -

BOWSER: You cannot be a hero when your understanding of what heroism entails is misguided.

MARIO: You're warped.

BOWSER: You will have three days to change your mind and come to the castle. Just like everyone else. You should be thankful. I'm practically offering you a truce.

MARIO: I'm not interested.

Bowser bears down on Mario, speaking only to him...

BOWSER: Try to take her now, and you will not escape this park alive.

Given the crowd, the Hammer Brothers, and the foot soldiers, it is impossible for Mario to argue. He shouts loudly, insuring that everyone who is gathered can hear his words -

MARIO: All you're doing is giving me three days to rescue her.

BOWSER: No, if anything, I am giving you three days to _fail _to rescue her.

Bowser's eyes fall to the HELMET he is still clutching. Then, he pivots - and WIELDS it LIKE A BATTERING RAM, utterly DESTROYING the INVINCIBILITY STAR SCULPTURE.

SHATTERED PIECES of the sculpture RAIN DOWN on MARIO. He ducks, covers his head, tries to run - but the SHEETS of RUBBLE STRIKE him. First, he is KNOCKED OVER, and then... UTTERLY BURIED.

Underneath the wreckage, everything is still. The Princess looks on in horror. The afflicted jeer. The healthy cry out, scream, some in support, most in opposition.

BOWSER: The power-up will save his life. Three decades of experience have taught me that. He can use this time in quiet isolation, as a reminder of my

power and to reconsider my offer.

Bowser grabs the Princess, throws her inside his helmet and charges away. At the same time, the foot soldiers and the Hammer Brothers marshal the crowd out of the park.

In the frenzy, we find TOAD, fighting to get to the rubble Mario is buried under. On the other side of the existent but eroding dividing line between the healthy and the afflicted is the ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY, part of the latter group.

The boy breaks the line -

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Come on, Toad. You can go home. No need to stay here.

Disturbed by the boy's presence, Toad presses further away from him, closer to the rubble.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Does it matter if Mario climbs out? I don't think it does. You can still write your story. Maybe you don't know the very last thing that happens, but you can save that for tomorrow. A sequel.

Despite being ignored by Toad, One-Armed Toad Boy continues to pursue him.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Hey, what are you going to do about getting the plague?

TOAD: I don't know.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Three-day countdown. Need to watch the clock since the sun's not going up and down. Hey, why do you think you're too good to talk to me?

TOAD: I'm busy.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: By the way, speaking of being busy, did you write anything about Yoshi? For Mario, that was sad. Not for me. Or for the man who had his neck ripped open. He shook my hand today. Like this.

One-Armed Toad Boy makes a hand shaking gesture with his lone arm. Toad stares back at him...

TOAD: What are you saying?

But the crowd swells before anything else can be said, and the One-Armed Toad Boy leaves Toad, as both of them fade into their separate packs, with Toad forced away from the rubble and out of the park by the wave of healthy toads.

**EXT. SEWER PIPE SYSTEM | "NIGHT"**

Luigi, still standing on top of the pipe, rises up on his toes in a feeble attempt to make out what's happening on the horizon. Daisy continues to sit next to him.

LUIGI: Can you tell what's going on? The Star sculpture was there and then-

DAISY: It's too dark.

Luigi hops off of the pipe and onto the top of the Super Mario Brothers van, hoping for a better vantage point. He doesn't get it.

LUIGI: I can't see anything, but I can hear something. It sounds like another riot.

DAISY: Why haven't we left already? It's at least 11:45.

LUIGI: I said I'd give him til noon. We don't even know where we're going.

DAISY: Wherever you choose.

Luigi cranes his neck, continues to listen.

LUIGI: Something bad is happening.

DAISY: You have to be the leader. I don't know anywhere besides here.

LUIGI: Your memory will come back to you.

DAISY: I remember finding a cave before I went to the place where you lived.

This gets Luigi's attention.

LUIGI: A cave? There aren't any caves in the Mushroom Kingdom.

DAISY: I can show it to you. It glowed for a minute. The light was blue. We could try going inside. Maybe it's even somewhere to live... At least for a little while. I don't think anyone would find us there.

Luigi is somewhat mystified but also respectful of Daisy's condition. He responds -

LUIGI: Probably not right now, okay?

He jumps off the van and opens the driver's side door.

LUIGI: I have a feeling my brother needs my help. Then we can leave here. I promise.

DAISY: You don't have to be lost without him. You have me-

LUIGI: You can wait here, or you can come. Up to you.

She drops from the pipe and walks to Luigi. He opens the door for her...

**INT. MARIO AND LUIGI'S HOUSE | "NIGHT"**

Ludwig enters, searching for something. He finds it inside the kitchen, where Larry's dead body remains untouched.

He recoils at the sight, turning away for a moment before gathering himself and then approaching...

Reaching the corpse, he looks down to see the splotch of plague on the back of his brother's neck. Even in death, the size of it has grown.

Ludwig retches without vomiting and then flees the house.

**EXT. THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM | "NIGHT"**

Upset and in somewhat of a daze, Ludwig crosses the Mushroom Kingdom, heading back towards the castle. While walking, he comes upon a healthy, but homeless and dirtied, TEENAGE GIRL going door to door, seeking help from the afflicted.

Ludwig sees an afflicted man slam the door in the girl's face. She tries another house - no one answers her knock, but the blinds in the nearest window shoot closed, a sure sign of rejection.

The girl abandons the house and checks both ways down the street. In one direction, there is a group of rambunctious, afflicted teenage toads. In the other direction, there is Ludwig. The girl chooses Ludwig -

TEENAGE GIRL: No one will give me the plague. Could you, maybe?

LUDWIG: What's been their reasoning?

TEENAGE GIRL: Some people are afraid I'll try to take their house after I'm afflicted. I won't, but they're paranoid because of the raids. Someone else said they don't want to get me sick. At least that's what they claimed. I guess they don't believe Bowser or the Princess.

LUDWIG: That's why you can go to the castle. She'll help you.

Ludwig begins to walk away.

TEENAGE GIRL: But what if something goes wrong, and I never end up with the plague? I don't want to die. You could take care of me right now...

LUDWIG: Take care of you? Is that what you believe?

Ludwig looks past the Teenage Girl to the group of afflicted Toads. He calls to them -

LUDWIG: Hey, you over there. Would one of you be willing to deliver the plague to this young woman?

An AFFLICTED TEENAGE TOAD - the tallest of the bunch - answers.

AFFLICTED TEENAGE TOAD: Not really.

LUDWIG: It's what Bowser wants. Before the culling. You have the theoretical opportunity to save a life.

The group fades into the shadows without responding. The Teenage Girl focuses on Ludwig.

TEENAGE GIRL: Please. Why won't you help me?

LUDWIG: I gave the plague to my brother last. He's dead now. We weren't close, but I still feel ugly, sick.

TEENAGE GIRL: He'll be reborn though, right?

LUDWIG: Is that why you're convinced you want the plague?

TEENAGE GIRL: I don't know. I'm just convinced I don't want to die in three days.

LUDWIG: Maybe you shouldn't be so convinced

of that.

He turns away, adding -

LUDWIG: I'm sorry.

And then wandering off.

**EXT. THE CASTLE OF PRINCESS PEACH | "NIGHT"**

Per Bowser's speech, at the bridge leading up to the castle a line has formed consisting of healthy men, women, children and toads of all ages. For now, the line is small, numbering less than fifty, and the gates to the palace remain closed...

**EXT. STAR PARK | "NIGHT"**

The crowds have cleared. The rubble from the destruction of the Invincibility Star sculpture begins to move...

Mario pulls himself out from underneath the rock. Bruised, cut and battered, his clothing torn, his cap nowhere to be found. But overall Bowser was in fact correct. Mario is fine. Except...

His MUSCLES appear SMALLER. His POSTURE is again HUNCHED. The pipe wrench looks heavier in his hands. It seems to be weighing him down.

As he climbs over a large chunk of the star, a familiar pain in his back causes him to buckle. He groans, tries to dig the knot out of it with his fist. He falls.

He gets back up, but only on all fours. His head hangs.

TOAD (O.S.): You said you would tell me before you made a rescue attempt.

Mario looks up to see Toad. He came back after all.

MARIO: Does this look like a rescue attempt to you?

Toad approaches, hesitant. While he's relieved Mario is safe, he is upset his request was ignored - and yet uncomfortable with the idea that he just confronted Mario about it.

MARIO: Losing the power-up. Can feel it leaving my system.

He comes to a crouching position.

TOAD: No Invincibility Stars fell last night.

MARIO: I wasn't counting on it.

TOAD: Can you find another mushroom?

MARIO: Would have to go to Giant Land. But that's too far. Could search the tunnels again, I guess. For the bags we stashed away. Problem is Yoshi finds those.

He stands. Puts his hands on his knees.

MARIO: And they killed Yoshi.

Toad is stunned. He looks down, likely thinking back to his strange interaction with One-Armed Toad Boy. Then, barely -

TOAD: I can't... How?

MARIO: Someone beat his skull in and then slit his throat.

Toad's shock turns to sorrow, sympathy.

TOAD: Who could have- Do you know?

MARIO: Could have been Bowser's camp. Larry Koopa tried to kill me at my house. I'm still breathing. He isn't. Daisy was scared of him. She was carrying something sharp. Maybe someone related to the guy Yoshi attacked in the van... Revenge. I don't know. I can't really afford to stop and worry about it until after I save the Princess.

Mario feels the top of his head, realizing his hat is missing. He looks back into the rubble.

MARIO: Were you here the whole time?

Mario walks. Toad nods, follows him.

TOAD: You still intend to rescue her? Given everything we've learned-

Mario stops him.

MARIO: Toad, this is the story you'll write - Super Mario saves the Princess, kills Bowser, and does everything in his power to find a cure for the plague.

TOAD: You believe you can kill Bowser?

MARIO: I don't think I have a choice.

TOAD: But how?

MARIO Let me worry about that.

He turns, starts to go. Toad watches, unable to hide his concern.

TOAD: Mario, your cap. I can search the rubble...

Mario raises his arm, a salute. Toad filters into the rubble and digs, as the subject of his life's work leaves him and Star Park behind.

**EXT. MARIO AND LUIGI'S HOME | "NIGHT"**

The balaclava lies in a hastily made fire pit. Mario removes his shirt and throws it on top of the mask. He continues to strip down, until he is naked except for his gloves.

He pulls one glove off and drops it into the pit. Violently then, he shakes his opposite wrist. The second glove looses from his hand, flings down onto the pile of clothes.

Finally, Mario pours LIGHTER FLUID into the pit - and then lights and throws a MATCH. The clothing IGNITES.

**INT. MARIO AND LUIGI'S HOME, SHOWER | LATER**

Mario showers. On his body, there are new cuts next to old scars. He scrubs himself with a soft wire brush, a brutal cleansing.

**EXT. MARIO AND LUIGI'S HOME | LATER**

Mario - freshly outfitted minus his cap - watches the fire burn nearly all the way out. Afterwards, he enters the garage. When he comes out, he is holding a shovel... And looking at Yoshi's shed.

A beat.

Near the fire pit, he jabs the shovel into the ground, extracting the first of what will be many scoopfuls of dirt.

**LATER**

The hole is illuminated by a smoldering glow from the fire pit. It has been started, but Mario is digging slowly. His back is bothering him.

He tosses a shovelful of dirt to the side, pauses. A VEHICLE can be heard IDLING. A familiar sound. Mario returns to the dig... And soon after, Luigi enters the backyard by walking through the house and out the broken sliding glass door.

MARIO: Where have you been?

Luigi gets stuck trying to process what Mario is doing.

LUIGI: What are you-

Mario points to Yoshi's shed. Luigi gravitates towards it. He looks inside and sinks.

LUIGI: What happened-

MARIO: He got killed, Luigi. Isn't it obvious?

LUIGI: Who?

MARIO: Revenge for Larry, revenge for the man on the street, I don't know. Your girlfriend was afraid of him. She had something sharp.

LUIGI: It wasn't Daisy.

MARIO: How do you know?

LUIGI: He was alive when I left with her.

MARIO: So that's where you were. But you came back.

LUIGI: I had a feeling you needed help.

Mario nods. Luigi goes into the garage. He comes out with another shovel and joins his brother.

MARIO: Where is she now?

LUIGI: Asleep in the van.

MARIO: You didn't correct me when I said 'girlfriend.'

Luigi digs.

LUIGI: You lost the power-up.

Mario digs.

LUIGI: I don't know what happened to you, but I really did come back to help.

No more words. Together, they dig.

**LATER**

The grave is finished. Mario and Luigi carry Yoshi's body out of the shed and lower it to the bottom of the hole.

MARIO: Anything you wanna say before we cover him up?

Luigi looks from the grave to their vandalized, essentially ruined, home and place of work.

A beat.

LUIGI: None of this is ever coming back, is it?

MARIO: We can fix it.

LUIGI: Not Yoshi.

MARIO: No, not Yoshi.

LUIGI: Not the plague.

MARIO: There's always a chance.

A beat.

LUIGI: How about you? Anything?

MARIO: Nothing I say will make a difference. Only what I do.

Mario uses his hands to strain the first measure of dirt onto Yoshi's body. Luigi follows suit...

**LATER**

Yoshi is buried. The hole has been filled. Shovels lie on the ground. Mario has just completed telling Luigi about the events at Star Park -

LUIGI: Three days until Bowser leads a massacre of everyone who doesn't have the plague...

MARIO: Minus however many hours it's been since the announcement. Clocks still work, but I have no

sense of time.

LUIGI: You think he can pull it off?

MARIO: Maybe not everybody. Not immediately. But... He has an army.

LUIGI: What's your plan?

MARIO: Get inside the castle. Rescue her. Kill him.

LUIGI: Kill him, really?

Mario nods.

LUIGI: You just said he has an army.

MARIO: I think I can use the lineup outside the castle. Pretend I want the plague. Get close that way.

LUIGI: Are you worried you never worked out how to kill Bowser before, and now all of a sudden...

MARIO: I'll figure it out.

Luigi eyes the worn down Mario with skepticism.

LUIGI: You rescue her first, then take him out? Or the other way around? What if you can't do both?

MARIO: I said I'll figure it

The brothers exchange looks.

MARIO: If that look is your way of saying you still think I should run away, save it.

LUIGI: Just listen-

MARIO: No. I have to believe Bowser will block off the tunnels anyway if he hasn't already.

LUIGI: Not the pipes. Daisy found somewhere else. A cave.

MARIO: What? In which land?

LUIGI: Here.

MARIO: And?

LUIGI: She thinks we can hide there. Either that or it leads us out of here. It has to be worth a shot.

MARIO: For you, sure. Go. Because you found someone who likes you more than they like me.

LUIGI: That's not at all what I'm saying.

MARIO: It's what you're doing-

LUIGI: We can wait out the culling. It's smart. Unless Bowser isn't making up this garbage about rebirth, the plague has to thin out his army eventually.

MARIO: Maybe we can just wait for the Princess to die then too, huh?

LUIGI: Don't put saving her ahead of everything else.

MARIO: I thought you came back to help.

LUIGI: There's more than one way to do that, Mario.

MARIO: Not when there's only one thing for me to do.

LUIGI: She doesn't deserve you.

Luigi turns away.

MARIO: Where are you going?

LUIGI: I know I can't stop you. I've learned that much over the years.

Mario watches him.

MARIO: Hey.

Luigi turns back.

MARIO: At least you always tried.

He is sincere.

MARIO: I mean it.

Luigi takes this in before saying...

LUIGI: You know the forest near the pipe system? She tells me the cave's in there.

Mario nods. After a moment, Luigi continues his exit.

MARIO: Luigi…

He pulls back.

MARIO: If I gave up on the Princess, what would I do then? Other than our business, saving her is all I got.

LUIGI: You've got me. We've got each other.

MARIO: But you're my brother. I'm supposed to take you for granted.

A joke. They both smile.

LUIGI: You'd have to find something else.

MARIO: You always wanted to rescue Peach. You wanted to be a bigger hero. Now...

LUIGI: I found Daisy.

MARIO: She found you. Who's going to find me?

LUIGI: You've always been the man, Mario.

MARIO: So why can't I be him again?

LUIGI I wouldn't bet against you. But this isn't the same world anymore.

A beat.

MARIO: Take the van.

Luigi nods. He goes.

**INT. TOAD'S OFFICE | "NIGHT"**

Toad is at his typewriter. He is wearing thin SURGICAL GLOVES while drafting the story Mario told him to write out of anticipation for what's to come like a NBA beat reporter in the middle of a game.

However, Toad is struggling to get the words out. The pieces of the narrative - Super Mario saves the Princess, kills Bowser, finds a cure for the plague - don't fit together. Despite his faith in Mario's heroism, he sees too many holes.

TOAD: No, that wouldn't kill Bowser.

A KNOCK at the door.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY (O.S.): Toad. It's me.

The handle on the doorknob wiggles back and forth. It is locked. Toad responds by typing, "_What's 'in his power' to do when it comes to finding a cure?_"

He thinks. Silence. One-Armed Toad Boy seems to have left. But then, a loud BANG.

One-Armed Toad Boy BREAKS DOWN THE DOOR. He shoves past it, carrying his baseball bat.

Toad jolts to his feet. One-Armed Toad Boy, on the other hand, acts as if he's taking a walk in the park on a sunny day.

TOAD: What do you want?

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: What are you writing?

TOAD: I'm reporting on Mario.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: I never would have guessed. Can I read it?

He strolls towards Toad.

TOAD: I'm not finished. Maybe when I am…

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Neat. I bet I'll hate the story though. I hate Mario. I hate him more today than I did yesterday. He hates the plague. So he hates me. But you love him. Does that mean you hate the plague, too?

TOAD: It's destroying us.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: I'm joining Bowser. He's sick like me. He won't tease me. I have one arm. He doesn't care. He makes me feel like it's okay.

TOAD: Mario wants to find a way to help make you better...

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Bowser says there's nothing wrong with me now. I like that.

Suddenly, One-Armed Toad Boy SWINGS the BASEBALL BAT and CRUSHES Toad's TYPEWRITER -

Toad deploys his DESK CHAIR in an attempt to defend it, but the boy STRIKES HIM with the BAT -

Toad goes DOWN. The One-Armed Toad Boy bends over top of him.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Here you go. So you don't have to wait in line.

Using his remaining hand, the boy SMEARS THE PLAGUE all over TOAD'S FACE.

Toad squirms, flails. He smacks One-Armed Toad Boy but it doesn't do any good.

The boy walks out.

Toad claws at his face. Aghast, he clambers off the floor and scrambles into the shower, which he gets into without taking off his clothes.

Turning the water on and the temperature up to scalding, Toad douses his face with soap, aims the shower head, and scrubs.

He will do so until his skin is raw.

**EXT. SEWER PIPE SYSTEM | "NIGHT"**

The Super Mario Brothers van rolls past the sewer pipe in neutral. Reconnaissance...

As Mario predicted, the primary route out of the Mushroom Kingdom is now being guarded, specifically by BRUISED HAMMER and a brigade of GOOMBAS.

Luigi keeps steering, insuring that the van stays undetected.

**I/E. VAN / FOREST | "NIGHT"**

The van arrives in a secluded area at the edge of a forest. Luigi eyes Daisy in the passenger seat next to him. She remains in the deep slumber he referred to earlier. Gently, he rocks her - and then gets out.

She stirs but does not wake. Luigi goes around to the other side of the van and opens her door. Just looking at her calms him, makes him smile. He speaks softly into her ear...

LUIGI: Hey.

Daisy stretches, yawns. Luigi smiles and leans away, providing her with all the room she needs to wake up and take stock of her surroundings.

LUIGI: You've been out like a rock.

Upon hearing Luigi's voice, Daisy's eyelids shoot to the heavens and stay there. She swivels -

DAISY: How did- You're Luigi.

LUIGI: Of course I'm Luigi. What-

DAISY: Where's Mario?

LUIGI: He wouldn't come. I think he'll try to save the Princess.

DAISY: Peach? What's wrong with Peach?

LUIGI: It's more complicated than before. Wait, you remember-

DAISY: I need Mario.

LUIGI: For what?

DAISY: All the blank spots are gone.

LUIGI: Blank spots? What-

DAISY: I remember everything.

It all floods back, and she can't stop herself -

DAISY: Bowser invaded my home, Sarasaland. His army killed people. They infected others with the plague. I don't know what happened to my father, the king. Do you know? Have you heard?

Luigi shakes his head.

DAISY: He folded. He must have folded. What I did was... What I did was I ran for the pipe to escape. But I was attacked, and I had to knock out a Shy Guy. I struck a Koopa and then I fell off balance and I smashed my head into something, the pipe, I think... I think it was the pipe, but I still managed to get inside.

LUIGI: That's where we found you.

DAISY: What is this? What are we doing?

LUIGI: I want you to show me the cave you found.

DAISY: I came here to get Mario. To persuade him to leave Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom behind to save Sarasaland.

A beat.

DAISY: How did I end up with you?

LUIGI: You... Said I was nice. You said you had a feeling we needed each other.

DAISY: I remember that.

LUIGI: You were right.

DAISY: I need you to take me back to Mario. Please, my father can't handle Bowser.

LUIGI: Chances are your father's fine. Bowser left Sarasaland. He came here. Don't you know that already?

DAISY: You don't know what they did to him.

LUIGI: Neither do you.

DAISY: The plague is there. My home needs a hero.

LUIGI: I'll go. Once the storm blows over here.

DAISY No, I need Mario.

She is stern. A sense of loss takes hold of Luigi.

LUIGI: You said you found a cave in this forest...

She turns and looks at the forest.

DAISY: I remember.

LUIGI: You didn't make it up?

She shakes her head no. Luigi looks back at her... A moment. And then he begins to go.

DAISY: Luigi...

He stops but does not turn to face her.

DAISY: Can I use the van to find Mario?

Without responding, Luigi carries his pipe wrench into the forest.

**INT. MARIO AND LUIGI'S HOME | "NIGHT"**

Showing more indecisiveness than he let on with Luigi, Mario lingers in the kitchen. From across the room, he stares at his pipe wrench, resting on top of the kitchen table next to a pair of gloves.

Nearby, the body of Larry Koopa lies face down on the floor. It has not been moved since Ludwig was here.

Mario walks to the table.

As he does, a portion of the right side of his neck, towards the back, becomes visible to us for the first time since the sequence at Star Park...

**It has been corroded by the plague**.

**Although we can't know for sure, given the location, we are**

**left to assume Mario is unaware of its existence****.**

He puts on the gloves. Then, he grips the pipe wrench, approaches Larry's body and drops down to his knees...

Using the wrench, Mario latches on to the SHELL that covers Larry's back - AND BEGINS TO PRY IT OFF...

**EXT. THE CASTLE OF PRINCESS PEACH | "NIGHT"**

The length of the line of people and toads that have come to receive the plague has grown in size by about half, from fifty to seventy-five.

More important, the gates at the front of the castle are in the process of opening...

The Princess stands behind them. Bowser looms at her side while Gnarled Hammer plays the role of enforcer.

As the gates creak to a stop, fully open, Bowser addresses the line -

BOWSER: Come forward. Join us.

The Teenage Girl Ludwig encountered in the street cuts through to the front of the line.

TEENAGE GIRL: I'm so thankful you're here. No one else would help me.

PRINCESS PEACH: Is that so?

TEENAGE GIRL: I had a dream that after this you asked me to be your daughter.

PRINCESS PEACH: Why that's... Incredibly wonderful.

Although she says and believes this, a piece of her is unsettled. She is slow to make the next move. The girl's excitement dwindles. Bowser shows agitation, impatience.

BOWSER: Take her into your arms, Princess.

The Teenage Girl steps closer.

BOWSER: Give birth to her. For the plague is life, anew.

Before Peach can act, the Teenage Girl hugs her. Gnarled stands at the ready in case the teenager happens to be devious. At the same time, Bowser stares at the Princess...

And she wraps her arms around the girl, pressing the plague against her naked skin. After a moment of unease, the Princess squeezes tighter, finding solace in this return to warmth and adoration.

She speaks as if from a script -

PRINCESS PEACH: In this moment, you and I are at one, together, as your transformation begins. May you go espouse the change we have wrought.

After the Princess releases her, the next person in line, a burly toad, steps up, showing more fear than the teenager.

As the Princess offers her most welcoming appearance, we leave them to track down the line, which is full of diverse members, ending at the very back, where the newest individual has just arrived.

Oddly, it is the One-Armed Toad Boy, holding his baseball bat.

**INT. GARAGE, MARIO BROS PLUMBING | "NIGHT"**

Mario readies for war.

He fixes a strap to the inside of the shell he removed - and cleaned and disinfected - from Larry's back, with the intent of using it as a SHIELD...

With a power sander, he grinds down the handle of his pipe wrench, making the edge SHARP...

Then, weapons in tow, he opens the garage door and leaves. He does not bother to roll the door closed behind him.

**EXT. THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM | "NIGHT"**

Mario traverses the Mushroom Kingdom by foot, walking without his signature red cap.

The streets are all but empty. The afflicted seem to be locked inside, while the healthy are either hiding, awaiting the culling, or preparing to contract the plague at the castle.

**E/I. TOAD'S HOME | "NIGHT"**

Eventually, Mario arrives at Toad's residence. He knocks on the front door, which has been fixed.

Responding to the knock, Toad cracks the door. He hides his face behind the wood panel. Only the very top of his mushroom hat can be seen.

MARIO: I remembered this time. I came to get you. I'm headed to the castle.

Toad reaches his arm out through the open sliver of doorway. In his surgical gloved hand is Mario's signature red cap.

TOAD: I found your cap in the rubble.

Mario takes it. He puts it on his head and tugs the brim down lower than usual.

MARIO: I'm glad you did.

TOAD: I can't go with you anymore, Mario.

MARIO: What do you mean you can't go?

Toad does not move.

MARIO: This will be the biggest story of our lives. Come on, you've never covered a rescue as it happened before.

TOAD: There won't be room for both me and Luigi.

MARIO: Luigi isn't coming.

Toad doesn't budge. Mario sees activity behind him, the One- Armed Toad Boy's family, walking from one room to the next.

MARIO: Who's in there with you?

TOAD: A family. They seized my house after the riots.

MARIO: And you let them stay? You should have told me-

TOAD: It doesn't matter now.

MARIO: Toad, you're not acting like yourself. Come outside.

TOAD: Good luck, Mario.

Toad starts to close the door, but Mario shoves his pipe wrench into the gap, jamming it open. A brief struggle ensues...

One that Mario convincingly wins, as he forces Toad and the door backwards, sending the former to the floor, while stumbling through the doorway and inside the house himself.

Mario reaches down to help Toad up -

TOAD: Don't touch me!

Mario holds off. Toad gets up on his own... For the first time, he shows Mario his face. The initial spots of plague have appeared on his cheeks and forehead, which have otherwise been scrubbed red.

This is heart-wrenching for Mario to see.

MARIO: Toad...

TOAD: You don't need to say anything.

MARIO: I still want you to come.

Toad refuses to make eye contact with Mario.

MARIO: We'll find a cure.

Toad nods.

MARIO: No matter what, this story can be part of your legacy.

TOAD You're still a hero, Mario, even if I don't write about it.

A beat.

TOAD: Now, please...

Mario acknowledges Toad. He turns. And as he does, he inadvertently reveals the patch of plague on his neck to Toad - who immediately recoils.

Because Mario is walking away he doesn't catch Toad's reaction. As he passes through the doorway, however, he looks back at Toad once again, simultaneously saying -

MARIO: Last chance.

Mario notices that Toad's facial expression has darkened substantially.

MARIO: What now?

TOAD: Do you know?

MARIO: Do I know what? What are you talking about?

Toad tries to read Mario's confusion.

TOAD: You didn't offer to shake my hand goodbye.

MARIO: Toad, you have the plague. I think we can find a way to fix it, but I can't take that chance. The Princess needs me.

Tears have formed in Toad's eyes. He nods.

TOAD: Care less about the Princess. More about the cure.

Toad closes the door. Mario stares at it...

Inside, Toad is emotionally shattered.

Outside, Mario takes everything in, the discovery that Toad has the plague and the strangeness of his goodbye...

He does not know what else to do but go.

**EXT. THE FOREST | "NIGHT"**

Luigi hunts through the forest, using his miner's head lamp to guide the way. The pipe wrench comes in handy when he needs to chop his way through dense copses of trees.

At times, he is aimless and morose. At others, he is aggressive and angry. The effects of his departures from Mario and from Daisy, in other words, are on display.

Finally, he reaches a clearing, and the CAVE that Daisy told him about.

It is the same hole in the earth we saw the Japanese Man emerge from in the prologue.

As Luigi gets closer, he realizes that the opening in the ground has exposed an UNDERGROUND CAVERN. Right now, a CONSTANT, POWERFUL BLUE GLOW - the mythical version of light from a frozen computer screen - is being emitted from inside.

Luigi peers in. He sees nothing other than the glow and the side walls of the cavern, which has a tunnel-like quality. No end is in sight. It could stretch underneath the ground for miles.

A beat.

Luigi steps back, puzzled. He looks around the clearing and then checks the cave again. The blue light is still there. He distances himself from it, while not really going anywhere, apparently set on lingering here in the forest...

**EXT. THE CASTLE OF PRINCESS PEACH | "NIGHT"**

The line to receive the plague has doubled in size, to between 150 and 200. The Princess and Gnarled Hammer remain at the gates, with foot soldiers wandering the castle grounds behind them. Bowser is absent. Ludwig has taken his place.

The Princess finishes transmitting the plague to an old woman. Again, she seems to revel in being needed.

One-Armed Toad Boy is up next. Because the nature of his affliction is so stark, his arrival causes a stir. Gnarled stomps forward. The Princess, however, saddened perhaps by the extent of the boy's ailment, takes control -

PRINCESS PEACH: He's merely a boy, and a handicapped one at that. Leave him be. (to One-Armed Toad Boy)You're already afflicted, my dear child. I'm happy you came, but unlike the others, you don't need me to save you.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: I know that. I came to talk to you. I want to help. I already gave someone the plague. You know him, actually. Toad. _The _Toad. What do you think about that?

PRINCESS PEACH: What do I think? I don't-

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: I guess you don't know what to think. Good thing I do. I love the plague. Do you remember the riot at Rescue Day? That was me. I started that. Then came Bowser. He made me feel comfortable in my own rotting skin.

With his baseball bat in tow, the One-Armed Toad Boy traipses over to Ludwig.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Look. We all have the plague. We fit together. Like a family.

Ludwig inspects this curious young toad...

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: You might want to stop staring at me and bring Bowser out here because I was looking around before and I think I saw someone with a red cap coming this way.

He points again, in the distance...

MARIO PACES TOWARDS THE END OF THE LINE.

His pipe wrench is strapped across his back. The shield is around his left forearm, but low. He surveys the castle gates. To himself, he says...

MARIO: Where's Bowser?

He sees the Princess - the line and Ludwig and Gnarled Hammer are the only three things currently standing between him and her, the only obstructions to a rescue if he can pull it off before the foot soldiers mobilize...

He stops before reaching the end of the line. He looks at it and then at its origin, at the Princess... He sees Ludwig suddenly hurry inside the castle. The Princess raises her arm, to him, it has to be to him. She announces -

PRINCESS PEACH: Let Mario through to the front of the line.

A beat.

HE RUNS FOR HER.

AND SHE LEAVES HER POST.

But the individuals at the front of the line are uninterested in ceding their position. They obstruct her path.

Gnarled pursues her out of the gates. As desperate seekers of the plague GRAB at her, Gnarled BLUDGEONS them. The commotion is making his bodyguard duties difficult...

While adrenaline - not athleticism - fuels Mario's forward charge, which comes with a discernible limp.

Back at the bridge, One-Armed Toad Boy lifts his baseball bat off the ground. He focuses on Mario, who's getting closer to the Princess, the two of them on a collision course... So the boy GOES AFTER THEM. Jogging, he watches when -

Mario and the Princess reach one another, with Gnarled bearing down on them -

PRINCESS PEACH: You're here.

MARIO: We've gotta run.

Apprehension. The feeling that this is what she wants, but she has given up all hope.

PRINCESS PEACH: Where? Where is there to go?

MARIO: Now. Come on. I can't carry you.

PRINCESS PEACH: Oh Mario, you can't give me an answer...

The discussion ends there. Gnarled breaks the plane, separating Mario from Peach - as Mario draws his newly sharpened pipe wrench, and the Princess screams -

PRINCESS PEACH: Don't touch him! He came to receive the plague.

In the background, One-Armed Toad Boy - who has just arrived - interjects.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Then why'd he bring a shield? I don't think so. That doesn't make sense.

PRINCESS PEACH: He brought a shield because he couldn't be sure how toads like you would react.

Offended, One-Armed Toad Boy paces in a circle, scraping the baseball bat across the ground...

PRINCESS PEACH: Now, I shall walk Mario to the front of the line so that the proper procedure can be followed.

She turns and she walks, with the sense that she is putting on a performance for all those in line.

PRINCESS PEACH: Come Mario, my love.

Her choice of words eats away at him. He takes a step, but he does not follow.

MARIO: What are you doing?

She continues walking away. The sight of her plague-ridden arms haunts Mario. He looks down at his own gloved hands as Gnarled keeps watch over him while trailing the Princess...

MARIO: Peach, come. I can kill Bowser later.

His assertion commands the attention of everyone, especially Gnarled. The Princess looks back at him, distant.

PRINCESS PEACH: He'll be pleased to hear you've chosen to accept the plague.

Mario raises his shield, goes forward, leading with his pipe wrench, his gaze fixed on Gnarled -

WHEN BOWSER AND LUDWIG EMERGE FROM THE CASTLE.

BOWSER: Super Mario... Have you arrived with the stubborn and foolish idea that the Princess needs to be rescued, or have you come to adopt the plague?

The Princess answers before he can -

PRINCESS PEACH: The latter.

BOWSER: I would enjoy hearing it from the plumber himself.

MARIO: You won't get your wish.

One-Armed Toad Boy flips his baseball bat into the air and declares victory -

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: I told you! How could you be so dumb? Even a blind princess would have known.

No one can believe what they just heard - a child called the ruler of the kingdom "dumb" to her face.

BOWSER: You must be the boy Ludwig told me about.

PRINCESS PEACH: I want him reprimanded. Gnarled!

As Bowser approaches Mario, Gnarled happily rotates towards the boy...

PRINCESS PEACH: Mario never stated why he came here. He merely said he didn't wish to tell Bowser at that moment...

Despairingly, she turns to Mario, whose stance suggests he is as poised to fight as he has ever been.

PRINCESS PEACH: Correct, Mario? You've come to receive the plague, haven't you? You can tell Bowser now, can't you?

Mario does not speak.

And One-Armed Toad Boy does not back down from Gnarled. He lifts his baseball bat, circles, and in the process, acquires a fresh angle on Mario - his right side, the side that's been facing away from the line.

Suddenly, the One-Armed Toad Boy shouts -

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Hey, wait! Bowser! Bowser! I see something on Mario's neck! He already has the plague!

All eyes shoot towards the boy. Without hesitation, the Princess accosts him -

PRINCESS PEACH: Not everyone is like you. Not everything is as you wish it to be.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: You're just being angry. Look for yourself.

BOWSER: Does this boy speak the truth?

He turns to Mario -

BOWSER: Mario, have you gone mute?

Mario blanches at the One-Armed Toad Boy's accusation, which does not seem to be colored with mischief or spite. It affects him enough to start to reach for his neck... Until the Princess calls out -

PRINCESS PEACH: He lies. He's a liar. Mario, tell us why you're here. Please.

She looks at him, searching, yet unable to see his neck. He looks back at her, eyeing the distance between them and Bowser - ten feet to her, at least a hundred feet to Bowser...

And due to where the Princess's orders concerning the boy have taken him, Gnarled now has his back to Mario...

A beat. MARIO LASHES OUT -

He STABS GNARLED HAMMER IN THE SIDE with the SHARPENED END of the PIPE WRENCH.

Gnarled buckles, counters with a weak and errant swing of his sledgehammer. Off-balance, his defense weakens - so Mario STABS HIM AGAIN in the THROAT.

He guzzles on his own blood, crumples. Mario offers his arm to the Princess -

MARIO: Peach, run.

PRINCESS PEACH: But my plague-

MARIO: I've got gloves.

He grabs her arm. Together, they run -

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Don't you know you have the plague? You don't know, do you?

One-Armed Toad Boy chases after Mario, leaping over the bloodied, thrashing Gnarled Hammer.

But the child is not the biggest threat... That, of course, would be BOWSER.

As he stampedes after Mario and the Princess, the crowd scurries in every direction.

PRINCESS PEACH: We can't outrun him!

MARIO: This is our best chance!

Peach loses Mario's arm.

MARIO: It's okay, keep moving! Split from me if you need to!

But she stays running as close to Mario as she can, on his right side, which allows her, finally, to see his neck...

PRINCESS PEACH: You did everything you could and still...

Mario can't figure out what she's talking about. And, really, right now whatever she says is irrelevant because, when he looks over his shoulder... BOWSER IS HERE.

MARIO: Run!

Peach diverges from Mario, as if there was a fork in the road. Unfortunately, she doesn't get far - Bowser scoops her up in his claw without needing to give up his route to Mario.

Seeing that the Princess has been taken, Mario quits running. He digs in, pivots - and CLUBS Bowser's midsection with the pipe wrench.

Bowser quickly counters, BLOWING FIRE AT MARIO - who is able to withstand the flames by using the shield. The EXTERIOR of the SHELL, however, begins to MELT away...

Mario ventures this is an opportunity. He PLANTS the SMOKING SHIELD ON TOP OF BOWSER'S FOOT, SCORCHING him.

Bowser wails. He almost loses his balance.

Having created a weak spot, Mario STABS HIS NEMESIS'S FOOT with the SHARP END of the PIPE WRENCH -

He looks up. Bowser dangles the Princess close to the ground.

Mario moves to rip the pipe wrench out of Bowser's foot - but he isn't strong enough to dislodge the weapon.

Bowser SWINGS downward, using an OPEN FIST. He KNOCKS AWAY Mario's SHIELD and sends Mario FLYING.

The Princess yells -

PRINCESS PEACH: You have to kill him! You're going to have to kill him!

Bowser rips the pipe wrench out of his foot and hurls it away.

Mario gets up. Bowser staggers towards him. The wound in his foot slows him down... But Mario is without a single weapon. He casts his eyes on the Princess. She has slipped halfway out of Bowser's fist. She looks like she can be freed...

SO HE MAKES A RUN FOR HER, like a football player dead set on blowing up the ball carrier, which prevents him from seeing -

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY coming from the side. He WHACKS Mario across the lower back with the baseball bat in the exact chronically ailing spot that has been causing him pain for years.

Mario CRASHES. A wretched grimace...

Stoned in place, he is a sitting duck for Bowser to target with his massive maw...

AND THEN THERE IS A LONE FIREBALL, followed by an AVALANCHE OF FLAMES pouring out of Bowser's mouth, as if he were spewing jet fuel in front of a blowtorch built for the gods.

MARIO IS BATHED IN FIRE. HE IMMOLATES.

Bowser shuts his jaws. Everyone and everything stops, except for Mario, encased in flames, flailing and screaming while the process of being burned alive takes longer than nature should allow.

Bowser sets the Princess down. He nears Mario, watching as the flames gradually devour his flesh and rob him of oxygen... This, Bowser takes great pleasure in.

BOWSER: You won many battles, Mario. But I embraced the plague and won the war.

Mario sputters. He falls flat. Whether he can comprehend them or not, these are the last words he will ever hear. His heart stops beating...

**Mario is dead**.

To the Princess, Bowser says -

BOWSER: I should have known you would revert to form in the moment.

She is unable to speak. She is unable to use her legs. Re- energized, Bowser clutches her in his hand. At the same time, One-Armed Toad Boy strolls forward.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Bowser, did you see me get him with

the bat?

BOWSER: You did well. You were more aggressive and useful than my son.

He says this as Ludwig arrives.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: Wow. That means the world to me. Hey Ludwig, check Mario's neck for your dad.

The ruminative Ludwig ignores the boy's specific order, but he does fixate on Mario. It is his father, however, who investigates. Despite the charred skin on Mario's dead body, the plague spot on his neck is still visible. It bubbles.

BOWSER: You were correct...

One-Armed Toad Boy smiles.

LUDWIG: Now, possibly, we can all go home.

Bowser is unamused by Ludwig's attitude. Angry, he asks -

BOWSER: What has become of Gnarled?

LUDWIG: He didn't make it.

BOWSER: His life for Mario's is a trade I'm willing to make.

LUDWIG: And Larry's life. Don't forget you lost him, too.

BOWSER: They will both be reborn.

Bowser waits for some acknowledgment from his son. He does not get it. Ludwig won't even look at his father.

BOWSER: Go get Bruised. I'll need him here with me now. Use extra foot soldiers to guard the pipe. And then come right back. Do you understand me, Ludwig?

A beat before Ludwig finally nods. Bowser then turns his attention to Mario.

BOWSER: He had the plague. I can use this. Toad has enjoyed writing about my defeats for years. Now he can write about my victory.

One-Armed Toad Boy jumps to offer his services.

ONE-ARMED TOAD BOY: I can bring him here. I know where he lives. First I stole his house. Then I gave him the plague.

BOWSER: Then do so.

One-Armed Toad Boy runs off. Ludwig eyes the Princess, who appears to be in a state of shock...

LUDWIG: What happens if she can't function?

Bowser glares at the Princess but addresses Ludwig -

BOWSER: I'll lock her in the tower until she can.

LUDWIG: But what if that's after the deadline?

BOWSER Then many more will be executed. And the Princess can live, die, and be reborn with that burden on her soul.

END ACT THREE


End file.
